Cats Credited With Alerting Aurora Family To Fire

AURORA, Ill. (CBS) — A family’s cats are being credit with alerting their human companions to a fire in Aurora over the weekend.

The fire caused nearly $40,000 in damage to the two-story home in the 3100 block of Grayhawk Court. The electrical fire was in the attic of a home in the 3100 block of Grayhawk Court, Aurora Fire Dept. Battalion Chief Steve Malatia told the Beacon-News.

Three people were home at the time, but no one was hurt. Malatia said the wife had gotten out of bed, thought the family’s cats were acting strangely and walked into the kitchen where she smelled smoke.

“She noticed a light haze and smelled smoke in the kitchen, got the rest of the family up and called 911,” Malatia said.

The cause of the fire appeared to be insulation that came in contact with a light fixture in the attic, he said.

Malatia said the home’s smoke alarms did not sound.

“We believe the fire was probably smoldering for a while,” Malatia said. He said the family was lucky that they caught the fire when they did. “If could have been worse,” he said.

Firefighters, 12 in all, were dispatched at 5:29 a.m. They cleared the scene at around 10:30 a.m.

No injuries were reported. It was not indicated how many cats lived in the house.

The Aurora Beacon-News contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire.